The Second Stain: Regrets

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Second Stain
Title: Regrets
Author: thesmallhobbit
Rating: G

Lady Trelawney Hope tried without success to comfort her grieving sisters.  Both had lost sons.

Through her tears the eldest sobbed “To think that one letter could lead to so much death.  You should be grateful, Hilda, that you have no child to mourn.”

Lady Hope woke with a start, thankful that Eduardo Lucas had been killed by his wife.

Comments

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I think that might be a little unfair. When she stole the document from her husband, she was simply thinking about getting her own letter back in exchange. She perhaps talked herself into believing that the document wasn't that important, even though logically she must have known it was.

But when she comes to see Holmes, she does ask him: "Is my husband's political career likely to suffer through this incident?" and "One more question, Mr. Holmes. From an expression which my husband dropped in the first shock of this disaster I understood that terrible public consequences might arise from the loss of this document... Of what nature are they?" She now accepts what an awful thing she's done.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I still get the impression that her concern is not for the overall affect of the letter, but what it will do to her husband's career - and therefore likely her own position. She could have asked for Holmes' help then. It isn't until he threatens to expose her that she finally hands over the letter.